On January 18, 2025, the anniversary of the day Alper Gezeravcı went into space, we attended the premiere of the documentary "Beyond the Horizon" and the exhibition "Turkey's First Manned Space Mission" at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul.
The event, organized in cooperation with the Presidency, the Ministry of Industry and Technology, TÜBİTAK, the Turkish Space Agency and TÜBİTAK UZAY, was attended by the Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın, politicians, experts from the world of space and technology, scientists, university students, members of the press, as well as Institute Director Mehmet Nefes from TÜBİTAK UZAY, Deputy Institute Director Gökhan Bilgili, Turkish Astronaut and Science Mission Project Manager Ömer Ataş and our Institute employees who wanted to participate in the event.
The "Turkey's First Manned Space Mission" exhibition, organized at AKM before the premiere screening of the documentary, showcased various equipment, photographs, interactive areas and video screenings reflecting Turkey's progress in space technologies and the memories of the Turkish Astronaut and Science Mission.
In his speech at the gala after the exhibition, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that Turkey has become an ambitious country in the space race and that they are excited for greater goals, and expressed his belief that the young people who follow this mission will achieve much more. Reiterating that Turkey aims to realize the Moon project and become one of the few countries in this field, Kacır noted that they are on the way to developing the necessary technologies for manned space programs and that they plan to launch with fully domestic rockets in the future.
The ceremony was also attended by Alper Gezeravcı, the first Turkish astronaut, and Tuva Cihangir Atasever, the second astronaut of Turkey to make a suborbital flight. Gezeravcı said that by stepping into space for the first time in the 100th anniversary of the Republic, they successfully carried out a mission that enabled young generations to explore the depths of space.
The documentary "Beyond the Horizon" can be watched on digital platforms; Tabi, D-SMART, TV+, tivibu and GAIN.
